At that time Jesus cured many of their diseases, sufferings, and evil spirits; he also granted sight to many who were blind (Luke 7:21).

Once the public ministry of Jesus began, a big part of his ministry was healing. This healing often brought people from a posture of being on the outside looking in, to returning to become again part of the community socially and spiritually. Typically, those with physical ailments were considered to have offended God in some way or ritually unclean. Many in this state, such as lepers were even required to keep at a distance, away from others, for to touch someone in this state would render them ritually unclean.

The healing touch of Jesus brought more than physical renewal as it also opened the door for people’s relationships with family, friends, and God to be restored. The healing miracles of Jesus were also a foretaste of the eternal kingdom of his Father where there is no longer pain, suffering, and separation, where our relationship with God will ultimately reconciled.

People may wonder if Jesus still heals today. I say, “Yes!” There are many accounts of people who have been physically healed, even beyond scientific explanation by calling upon his name. There are also those, like myself and many with me, who have prayed for a healing that was not granted in the way we sought in prayer. Though my wife, JoAnn, was not healed from pancreatic cancer in this life, she is free from her suffering and pain. Her relationship with God the Father has been restored and she is now with him interceding on our behalf.

The physical healings of Jesus were precursors of the ultimate healing he came to bestow upon each and every one of us. Even death is not an end nor does it have the final word. The Son of God entered into our human condition to become one with us in our humanity so that we can begin to become one with him in his divinity in this life, where he conquered death, so that we can continue on with him for eternity where we will see his Father face to face.

Photo: JoAnn, in her early twenties, maybe looking to the Heaven where she is now.

Link for the Mass readings for Wednesday, December 16, 2020.